Right now my front rotors are warped and the pads are worn down(they have maybe a 1000 miles left, according to my mechanic). My mechanic also said the rotors were too far out of spec to grind down and needed to be replaced.

I was thinking of attempting this repair myself. I have never worked on the brakes, but there is a first time for everything. All I would have to do is take off the old rotors, bolt on the new ones, and change the pads. Would I have to bleed the brakes? I don't think I would since I'm not messing with any of the brake lines.

For tools I have a jack and two jackstands. I also have a full assortment of standard and metric sockets and wrenches. I do not have a torque wrench, but I could borrow a buddy's. Do I need any special tools?

I appreciate you helping out a newb.

 

Sure, you can do it yourself. Its a good idea to get a manual for guidance. When you go to install the new pads you will need to push the pistons back into the calipers. Open the bleed screws on the calipers first. And you will want to bleed the system afterwards. (At least that's how I do it)

 

It's easy enough to do yourself. Pick up a Chiltons or Motors manual to guide you. There are a number of ways to compress the piston to make room for the new pads, I like to use a C-clamp or a large pair of channel locks to squeeze it back in. I hate bleeding brakes.

 

You should do it yourself. Use the money you save in labor and use it for better pads rotors.

I just did my rear rotors, rear pads, rear stainless lines, C5 front calipers, C5 front rotors, C5 front pads, and C5 front stainless lines in 7.5 hours. That included the whole C5 front brake conversion.

You should easily be able to do it yourself. Especially the LS1 front brakes.

If you don't have a breaker bar, it's a nice tool to have and will help with any stubborn bolts.

If I was only changing the front rotors and pads, I would say 2 hours is plenty.

Dan

 

2 hours including talking with the buddies, drinking beer, clean up, eat lunch, then test drive

 

I agree, but when it's your first brake job, you take it slow and make sure everything is o.k.

Dan

 

So will I need a torque wrench or not?

I have a piece of lead pipe I put on my ratchet for a breaker bar.

 

I never did brakes before, but followed the instructions on installuniversity.com and did it successfully.

The torque wrench is not absolutely necessary, but you really should use it to make sure your lug nuts are tightened to the right torque and evenly so. Screwing up the torque on your lugs is one way to warp rotors.